A random blog by an aspiring author who delves into the fantasy that all things can be solved by the perfect cookie and a pair of handknit socks.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Love to Teach

Today I have a knitting class to teach. I'm the local knitting instructor at my town's Jo-Ann. I'm not going to get rich teaching these classes, but I gain something more from them. To put it simply, I love to teach people to be creative. Since knitting is something that I am passionate about it makes sense that I would want to share that passion with others. Today's class is a Knit 101 class. In two and a half hours I will be teaching five willing soon-to-be-knitters how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off.

There is something fulfilling to see a new knitter have that light bulb go off in their eyes when they catch on to the longtail cast on or when they figure out on their own the difference between a knit side and a purl side. When I take them on a tour through the yarn department of the store and watch their faces when I toss them a ball of bamboo and silk or a superfine merino and they go "oh this is nice!" that is my greatest payment. When I see them at the store looking for their next project it makes me plum giddy. I have spread my psychosis love of fiber creating.

Of course I don't tell them that this is an illness that they just paid to receive. Soon they are going to be hiding yarn in bins under their beds and deciding that the sofa cushions don't need pillow forms in them and make just dandy hiding places for stashed yarn (Thank you Yarn Harlot for that suggestion - not that I would do anything like that). They will make "arrangements" in flower vases because they have more knitting needles than spaces for them in their handy dandy needle case that they purchased thinking they would never fill it. They will find themselves on Ravelry at all hours of the night looking for that perfect summer cardigan or a fantastic pair of socks. (Ravelry links) They have no clue that in a year they are going to be paying an astronomical amount of money to go on knitting cruises, knitting trade shows or conference on nothing but socks! All because they decided on a whim one day to take a $35 class at their local Jo-Ann and ran into a crazy lady in hand knit socks with a pink bucket hat on her head. (More Ravelry links.)